Contents of the BIPBOP2.DOC file

B I P B O P I I Released: January 1993

LEGAL STUFF:

Copyright (C) 1993 by S&M Software. All rights reserved. Compiled using Turbo Pascal v6.0, copyright (C) 1983,90 by Borland International. BipBop II is supplied as is. S&M Software disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. S&M Software assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of BipBop II. This program may be distributed freely, and no fee may be charged for it except a nominal copying fee. All trademarks contained herein are registered to their respective owners.

REQUIREMENTS AND FEATURES:

Requires VGA or MCGA display, 512k free RAM, and a thirst for adventure. Features... - Mindblowing 256-color graphics and art, including real-time 3D rotation (intro), raytraced game pieces, hypnotically flowing backdrops, and... - DIGITIZED ANIMATION! - Supports mouse or keyboard - Over half a meg of graphics data (compressed, for your convenience and our sanity) - Built in screen saver on a time delay - A great plot that's so subtle, you won't even know it's happening. (mild sarcasm) - Lots to see and do!

REGISTRATION:

BipBop II was released as a Shareware program. Upload it to local bulletin boards. Give it to your friends. Mail it to long-lost relatives. Don't let anyone miss out. And, when you have whet your appetite on what THIS game has to offer, just look at what else is available...

- The original, pristine, uncensored version of BipBop! A little slice of gaming history! - BipBop III, the third and final chapter! Twenty more levels of fast-paced action, with all new graphics and a surprise twist ending! Without any doubt, THE BEST ball-and-paddle type game that exists in the entire universe. - A really slick screen saver that cashes in on the fantastic graphics work that you've come to expect from S&M Software.

...and all of this for the low registration fee of just $20 (US). That includes shipping, handling, and really neat labeling. Also, if there are any demos or prototypes of up-and-coming S&M releases lying around, they'll be packaged with your order. "Incredible!" you say. Well, you're correct. Software of this caliber costs oodles of money in retail stores, which hike up the prices anyway. Who needs the middleman? What you get with your S&M Software registration is pure, and fresh from the programmer's workshop. Register now... the power is in your hands, and the address is at the end of this file! **IMPORTANT! When ordering, be extra sure to specify 5" or 3" disk size.

GETTING STARTED:

"Ah," you snap impatiently, "but how does this thing WORK?!" Calm down, fledgling BipBopper. All will be explained. When you first load up the game, and get past the pretty dedication graphics, you'll find yourself at a menu. If you have a mouse installed... good! The interface is point and click simplicity, meaning that you (1) POINT at what you want and (2) CLICK the mouse button. If you happen to be using the keyboard, the [TAB] key will scoot you around the menu options until you come across one you like. You shouldn't have to look far, since there are only four. The [ENTER] key will then confirm your choice. If you have a mouse but wish to use the keyboard, fret not. Simply start BipBop II with the command line parameter "NOMOUSE". Like this:

C:\BIPBOP2>bipbop2 nomouse

Don't worry, I'll summarize the commands at the end. The main menu options are as follows: "PLAY" - Intuitively enough, starts a new game. "SETUP" - Sets your options for gameplay, namely the speed, and method of control. If you want to play BipBop II using a keyboard, but would rather point-n-click than [TAB] through menus, don't worry. The option you set here only counts in the heat of gameplay. To maneuver with a key- board, use the [TAB] key to wander around, and the up and down arrow keys to customize your options. Select "ACCEPT" when you're through. "DEFAULTS" resets the stats to, well, their defaults. "REGISTRATION" - Tells you about registering the game. Since you're currently perusing this much more detailed document- ation, you already know about the terrific things available by registering. "QUIT" - No doublespeak here. Straight to DOS you'll go.

PLAYING THE GAME:

When you select "PLAY" from the main menu, you'll be off on a wondrous adventure. We at S&M Software hope you like it. As a matter of fact, we hope that you like it a lot (see "REGISTRATION", above). But, I digress. Mooga. After a little advice, or a friendly taunt from the BipCritter, you'll be into the thick of things. Your objective is to remove all "boinks" from the screen. A boink is a little box with a Roman numeral in it. You'll note that when you bounce your ball against a boink, it's value decreases. This, in a nutshell, is the whole idea. Knock a boink down to zero, and it will disappear. When all of the boinks on a level are eradicated, in accordance with state and federal laws governing the individual's right to destroy numbers, you'll advance to the next board. There are twenty in all. Best of luck... you'll need it. You control the game by manipulating your paddle, which you'll find at the bottom of the screen. Mouse users, simply trundle your rodent left and right. Keyboard aficionados, use the [ALT] and [CTRL] keys. [ALT] goes left, and, fortunately, [CTRL] shifts the paddle to the right. Simple, eh? But, that's not all. The paddle is a fascinating instrument indeed, for it possesses the power to ejaculate bullets of approximately three times its own mass. To test your firepower, press a mouse button, or the [SPACE] bar on the keyboard. Get good with these bullets... you have about a kazillion of them, and you'll need them on occasion. The ball that you bat around in hopes of nailing a boink or two will bounce off of these bullets, which make them most useful for tricks and such. Boinks aren't the only things populating the levels, by the way. You'll also find: GOBLINS - Mean little buggers who, when touched, boost every boink on the level by one. You'll discover this soon enough. ONE-UPS - Free lives, which you will certainly be thirsting for. SHOCKS - Look like exclamation points, and not even WE are sure what they do. If you make it past all of these beasties, you might just get to the end of the game, and learn exactly why you've been playing. (It's a zen moment; don't miss it).

STRATEGY:

There are two ways of hitting the ball with your paddle--You can simply deflect it, or you can "corner" it, and hit it back the way it came. The brighter ones among you will quickly pick up on how this could be a valuable tool. Also, learn to use the tips of your bullets to reroute the ball in midair. If you get locked into a repeating pattern of bounces, this is one way to escape and get on with your life.

SUMMARY OF COMMANDS:

"NOMOUSE" - A command line switch to deactivate said vermin. [TAB] - For keyboard users, cycles between menu options. [CTRL] [ALT] - Also for keyboard users, to control the paddle. [SPACE] - Yet again for those with keyboards, fires a bullet. Mouse buttons - Select menu choices, and fire bullets. [ESC] - Gets you out of where you are, to where you were. [P] - Pauses the game. Press a mouse button or any key to get back into the action again.